ART COMES DOWN AND ART GOES UP.

Hey there sports fans Al here with the latest:



Well The "SCRATCH AND BURN" art show comes down this week and I'll be picking up whats left of the artwork.  From what I can tell there are a lot of original pieces still up with no sale tag on them but that's okay because what I have heard recently through the grapevine is that some of the prints have sold!
That's great news for me as this months focus begin towards group show "ICON" and the 3rd Rose City Comic Book Show.

Now with the ICON Art show only a few weeks away as well as the the idea of art and the postcard comes together. Nothing else quiet like it. I feel that I have more or less stumbled into a small arena where a small image can be big.
What I mean by that is that a small image can have a big impact on a person. When I look at the new images that are coming out from this group of pictures I am sure that there is something there that is worth watching let along pay for.
I am currently onto the second card image currently and hope to have it done fairly soon. The card set I would like to have done before Halloween roles around but I know that my work can sometimes be tedious and a trial for moi.
Always plan for more. You can never tell whats gonna move and sell.


And that's why I am working on POSTCARDS right now.

 I had been wanting to work on a Richard Parker show for a while since "Deep Sea Calamari" was bought and traded like a stock on the NY Stoke Exchange back for the O.M.S. back in October of last year.  But the idea of working on a Old School Deep Sea Diver kinda got me and then I started to really work around the idea of this guy and then I got a name from a movie that I liked and everything began to really take place.
I never expected to see Richard Parker really take off as a series of work but what do I know, I'm just the artist.
And of course I thought that I could have a show based around this icon figure but a friend of mine this evening suggested that I get a hold of a few maritime places along the coast.

 Man, I had never even thought about that before but what a great idea regardless.

NOW comes the push for commissions and cards.  Halloween is coming fast and I have a number of images that I have to have ready for the BIG 500 art show coming up later this year.

ON TOP OF THAT... BEFORE YOU KNOW IT-
ROSE CITY COMIC SHOW takes place this next weekend.  I am hoping that I might be able to turn a little of coin to alleviate some of issues. At least that is my hope.
If anything I'll take a break from the regular grind of selling art materials and sell artwork in it's place.

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FURTHER ADVENTURES WITH RICHARD PARKER....
Truth be told I'm having a wonderful time working on these images for post cards and prints.  And if anything else I'll have artwork ready to show for next year's NWIPA art show in September. Plus the original poster design that I am making them for this Halloween Tap Take Over from Evil Twin Brewing.
It should be a fun show.
All NEW SHOW ADDENDUMS
As the month of SEPTEMBER beings it's march to the end my co workers hit upon the idea of a Last Thursday Art Vending show in North East Alberta on the 25th. To me this would be another way of getting my work out to the public And into that area of town. Since I already have postcards and prints done I might as well take advantage of the show and the work.
COMMISSION WORK:
Not much has been mentioned about this other than a few people who have inquired about the possibility of work - no money has changed hands. "Money talks, Bullshit walks." is that old adage though crass as it is it is also true.  I know a lot of other artist who have been in the business don't work on speculation.  There's no money (seriously) in it.  Anybody who tells you that has swamp land to sell to you in Arizona.

BUT the fine people of NWIPA have asked me again to make another poster design for them for Halloween. Now really I jumped at the chance to do this because I LOVE HALLOWEEN.

Personally I think that it should be a recognized holiday like any other but I know that is not being realistic as much as I would jump for joy.  On top of that, Dan had asked me to incorporate a little H.P. Lovecraft into the work.  For that was awesome since I have been reading up on that author recently. Fun and creepy stuff.  Now I know there is so many people that are attracted to the work like King, Wrightson and Mingola. 

And with the high praises of the work at the bar of NWIPA saying that work that I have been doing reminds him, Matt, of Wrightson I am blessed.

If you are not knowing who Bernie Wrightson is then please do yourself a favor and look at his artwork here .  I can say that I have  met the man a few times in my life and he is one nicest and genuine illustrative master I have ever met - with the exception of Micheal W. Kaluta.  Here is an example of his fine work and here for his website.

I can only hope that one day (hopefully soon that I could gain the recognition that these two artists have.  I think that I am getting there.

LAST MONSTER ON EARTH!
Now it has been a while since any of my comic book work has been mentioned or anything else for that matter so I thought that I should add a few images that this character is still going strong - though I am currently thinking about how to bring him into the comic Universe that I have created.  
The easiest way I can do that is using Corrax the Seeker (NEWER VERSION) and launch a new WEIRD ATOMIC TALES book including those characters.  Here is some of the images that I have been working on.

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 Comics are never far from my mind so I try to keep myself busy by envisioning a new work.  Corpse Cop again is another example of a book and character that I would love to see out there.  Rose City was supposed to the unveiling of two Corpse Cop books but life got in the way of that but they are still out there.

 

ODDITIES:

Not at the moment- unless I look in a mirror.

More of this info can be found at  www.thevelvetcoffin.co.

and at Ratchet Raven Productions.

OTHER NOTE WORTHY THINGS :

If your wanting to look at some of the older blog for Black Box Comix you can check them out here. Black Box Comix Blog.

There is also Twitter https://twitter.com/blackbox13 to follow and Tumbler The Other Scratchpad

blackbox13.tumblr.com/   as well 

Or if you're interested in purchasing something that catches your eye  check out here on the Big Cartel web site.  Big Cartel.

And of course is always the backlog of comics here at Indyplanet.

And the kid is out of here!

The Future of Fall

HEY THERE SPORTS FANS, AL HERE WITH THE LATEST:

Within the week the “SCRATCH AND BURN” ART SHOW

will be no more than a memory on a calendar. And really that is okay by me because this will mark the third time I have had a solo one man show going on and still cranking out lots of new artwork to be looking at. And man it has been a somewhat turbulent summer. But with Fall just around the corner it's time to crank out more work than I ever have before.

I've just got this feeling that I need to bust it out both in shows around town (both group shows and solo shows) as well as my Independence graphics and illustrative work. And nothing is more true than the work I have coming up for the “ICON” group art show this month of September.

Now you already know that I had posted a rough idea of what that image is going to look like and I am pretty close to being done with the work as we stand. Now one of the things about “All Laid Out” is the way it is being framed this time around.

After talking to another artist friend/customer at the art retail store I work at part time here in PDX, he suggested another way of presentation. Velcro.

Now I know that may sound strange but it does have a couple of advantages that other framing doesn't.

1. Cost. Velcro doesn't cost that much on top of a frame. There are the IKEA framing that a lot of people will use in a pinch and that isn't bad but it should only be a temporary measure. And truly a lot of artists can't afford really nice framing – it just sucks.

2. Group Shows. You can get away with almost anything. Most of the group shows that I have been apart of for the last couple years the farming has been almost been looked upon as a oversight like “Oh yeah, I should probably put a frame around that shouldn't I?” So a lot of people have a tenancy to make it look cheap. This also makes the work look DE-valued in the public eye because the framing is done to the work is permanent. So there is no way to present the work better even if a buyer wanted to buy it. Thing is about the Velcro in a frame it can be taken out and re-framed.
3. And it can be reused for other pieces. For example if you had a piece that sold as in a cash and carry situation but only the piece sells (Congrats on selling the work woowhoo!) but what do you now? You've got a blank space on the wall with a blank frame. Put another work up. This shows that you do have other work out there and there is a quick turn around for your work. Perception of your work is great.
4. So there you go in a nutshell how I am looking at this Velcro thing. Now it's time to see if it'll work. Always experimenting with the things.

COMMISSIONS:

Now I thing that I may have mentioned that I had talked to Shane of Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn NY about the possible chance of doing a commissioned t-shirt design well after about a week the realization is that I can't meet his deadline for the beer festival that he and his brewery are going to be a part of. That really is to bad 'cause I do really like the guy and he's nice but also... it's NEW YORK!

How many people can say that they live here on the west coast and sell artwork in the east? Not a lot of people I know that represent themselves.

But there is factor of the turn around time as well. Unfortunately there just wasn't enough set up time to create three different pencil roughs get approval on one and then etch out the final on scratchboard for a t-shirt design.

I'm fast but I'm not that fast! So I had to say no to the work.

HOWEVER when commission fades from view another popped up in the form of former front man of the Fallmen - Aron Christensen.

Aron was the very first “real” commission I had gotten when I started working on commissions on a regular basis here in Portland about three years ago. The first that was designed was three head Cerberus Wolf. That was a fun t-shirt to design then there was there first album that they recorded “Life is Pain” (available on iTunes) 
  It is fun to think of working with him again.  Though it sounded like this image that I would be working on for him would be a straight up black and white illustration. 
THERE IS ALSO A POSSIBILITY that NWIPA

might be looking for a Halloween poster done in scratchboard.  The Poster designs that I have done for them in the past have always been pretty cool and very detailed.  Something a little more than they would be thinking. But we'll see how this works out.

AL'S SOAPBOX

I have over the years gone to several galleries either during openings or First Thursday's/ Friday's to look at the new work and what I am presented with as a viewer is the same old stuff.

This to me personally (so really this is only my opinion so don't get bent out of shape) strikes me as falling back on old work to either get rid of OR laziness/ didn't have the time.

Now again I do really understand this point of view better than anyone AND I wouldn't suggest that if you had a brand new venue that you crank out a whole brand new batch of work and just store your old (though if you could you must be the most talented artist in the world OR high on crack).

I guess what I am trying to say is this .... MAKE AN EFFORT.  People want to see new work and know that you as the artist are not being lazy.
ODDITIES:

Not at the moment- unless I look in a mirror.

More of this info can be found at  www.thevelvetcoffin.co.

and at Ratchet Raven Productions.

OTHER NOTE WORTHY THINGS :

If your wanting to look at some of the older blog for Black Box Comix you can check them out here. Black Box Comix Blog.

There is also Twitter https://twitter.com/blackbox13 to follow and Tumbler The Other Scratchpad

blackbox13.tumblr.com/   as well 

Or if you're interested in purchasing something that catches your eye  check out here on the Big Cartel web site.  Big Cartel.

And of course is always the backlog of comics here at Indyplanet.

And the kid is out of here!